Process for production of AT-125

ABSTRACT

Antibiotic AT-125, producible by culturing Streptomyces sviceus in an aqueous nutrient medium has the following structure: The absolute configuration of AT-125 was determined to be L-( Alpha S,5S)- Alpha -amino-3-chloro-2-isoxazoline-5-acetic acid. It is an amphoteric compound and can exist in different ionic forms according to the pH of the environment. At low pH, AT-125 exists in the acid-addition salt form, at a higher pH in a zwitterion form, and at a still higher pH in a metal salt form. AT-125 inhibits the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces pastorianus, Penicillium oxalicum, Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli, and can be used to inhibit such microorganisms in various environments.

United States Patent [191 Hanka et al.

[ PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION OF AT-125 [75] Inventors: Ladislav J. Hanka; David G. Martin,

both of Kalamazoo, Mich.

[73] Assignee: The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo,

Mich.

[22] Filed: Sept. 6, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 503,633

Related U.S. Application Data [60] Division of Scr. No. 329,001, Feb. 2, 1973, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 234,347, March 13, 1972, abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl. 195/80 R [51] Int. Cl. C12d 9/00 [58] Field of Search 195/80 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,616.237 10/1971 Newman et al. 195/80 R Primary Examiner-Lionel M. Shapiro Assistant ExaminerR0bert J. Warden Attorney, Agent, or FirmRoman Saliwanchik [451 Apr. 15, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT Antibiotic AT-125, producible by culturing Streptomyces sviceus in an aqueous nutrient medium has the following structure:

"2 r a K CH -Cl-l C0 The absolute configuration of AT-l25 was determined to be 6 Claims, N0 Drawings PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION OF AT-125 CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AT-125 is an amphoteric antibiotic which is producible by culturing an AT-l25-producing actinomycete in an aqueous nutrient medium. This antibiotic has the property of adversely affecting the growth of Grampositive and Gram-negative bacteria, for example, Ba-

cillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. It is also active against various fungi and yeast, for example, Saccharomyces pastorianus, Penicillium oxalicum, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Accordingly, the.

novel antibiotic of the subject invention can be used alone or in combination with other antimicrobial signal for the amino acid methine proton was a first order doublet at 4.12 8 with J 3.5 H The IR specturm of a Nujol mull was determined on a Perkin Elmer 421 spectrophotometer. Major peaks (except Nujol) were found at 3030 (broad), 2730, 2620, 1620, 1590, 1495, 1425, 1405, 1325, 1307, 1293, 1275, 1145, 1127, 895, and 870 cm".

The chemical structure of AT-125 in the crystalline form was established rigorously by X-ray diffraction. Crystalline AT-l25 can be named chemically as L- (aS,5S)-aamino-3-chlor0-2-isoxazoline-5-acetic acid. Molecular Weight:

Rigorous X-ray structure established AT-l25 as C H,C1N O or molecular weight as 178.6.

Solubilites:

Soluble in H and slightly soluble in methanol. Relatively insoluble in ethyl acetate, ether, benzene and chloroform.

Antimicrobial Properties of AT-l25 The following results were obtained with a standard disc plate assay using 13 mm. paper discs and a concentration of 1 mg./ml. of AT 125.

Microorganism Bacillus subtilis (in synthetic agar) Bacillus Sublilis (in nutrient agar) Lacrabacillus casei Sarcina lulea Staphylococcus aureus M ycobacterium avium Escherichia cali (in nutrient agar) Escherichia coli (in synthetic agar) 3 Salmonella schonmuelleri Proteus vulgaris Klebsiella pneumoniae Saccharomyces paslorianus Penicillium oxalicum Candida albicans (tested at 100 ag/ml.)

Zone of Inhibition (mm) around a 13 mm. Paper Disc OOOOOOOQOOOO hazy Sacclmromyces cerevisiae (tested at 100 agents to prevent the growth of, or reduce the number of bacteria, yeast, and fungi, as disclosed above, in various environments. For example, it can be used for treating breeding places of silkworms, to prevent or minimize infections caused by Bacillus subtilis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Characterization of AT-125 The structure of AT-125, consistent with determined spectral and analytical data, is

a 4 Hz a 1K Cl-l -CH CO;

and its ion and zwitterion forms.

The NMR specturm of a saturated solution of AT- 125 in D 0 was determined on a Varian XL100 spectrometer. The 100 MH spectrum was not first order and clearly indicated the presence of 4 nonexchangeable protons. The methylene protons on C were seen as a typical deceptive 5 line AB pattern with the strongest signal at 350 H and an apparent doublet at 359 H and 361 H The neighboring proton on C,

was seen as an apparent doublet of triplets centered at 5.36 8 with line separations of 3.5 H and 10 H The THE MICROORGANISM DESCRIPTION Streptomyces sviceus Dietz sp. n. N. Y. characteristics. Aerial growth gray. Melanin positive. The color pattern on Ektachrome [Dietz, A. 1954. Ektachrome transparencies as aids in actinomycete classification. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 152-154] is given in Table 1. Reference color characteristics are given in Table 2. The culture may be placed in the Gray (CY) and White (W) color series of Tresner and Backus [Tresner, H. D., and E. J. Backus. 1962. System of color wheels for streptomycete taxonomy. Appl. Microbiol. 112335-338]. Microscopic characteristics. Oval to rectangular spores sparsely adorned with warts or short spines borne on candelabre-like sporophores. Sporophores are long, straight and coiled at the ends. Sporophores may be placed in the spiral (S) group of Pridham et al. [Pridham, T. G., C. W. Hesseltine, and R. G. Benedict. 1958. A guide for the classification of Streptomyces according to selected groups. Placement of strains in morphological sections. Appl. Microbiol. 6:52-79]. Spore surfaces may be placed in the warty group of Dietz and Mathews [Dietz, A., and John Mathews, 1970. Classification of Streptomyces spore surfaces into five groups. Appl. Microbiol. 21:527-533]. Cultural and biochemical characteristics; See Table 3. Carbon utilization. The growth of the culture on carbon compounds was determined using the procedures of Pridham and Gottlieb [Pridham, T. G. and D. Gottlieb. 1948. The utilization of carbon compounds by some Actinomycetales as an aid for species determination. J. Bacteriol. 56:107-114] and Shirling and Gottlieb [Shirling, E. B., and D. Gottlieb. 1966. Methods for characterization of Streptomyces species. Int. J. Sys. Bacteriol. 161313-340]. In the procedure of Pridham and Gottlieb, S. sviceus showed fair growth on the basal medium, dulcitol, D-sorbitol, salicin, and sodium oxalate; good growth on D-xylose, L-arabinose, rhamnose, D-fructose, D-galactose, D-glucose, D-mannose, maltose, sucrose, lactose, cellobiose, raffinose, dextrin, inulin, soluble starch, glycerol, D-mannitol, inositol, sodium acetate, sodium citrate, and sodium succinate; poor gowth on phenol, sodium formate, and sodium tartrate; no growth on cresol and sodium salicylate. In the procedure of Shirling and Gottlieb the culture did not grow on the negative control (basal medium only). Growth was good on the positive control (basal medium plus glucose). Growth was equal to or greater than the glucose control on the basal medium plus L- arabinose, sucrose, D-xylose, inositol, D-mannitol, D- fructose, rhamnose, and raffinose, growth was doubtful with cellulose. Temperature The culture grew well at l828C. on Bennetts and Czapeks sucrose agars; at 18-37C. on maltosetryptone agar. There was no growth at 45 and 55C. on Bennetts, Czapeks sucrose, and maltose-tryptone agars. Antibiotic-producing properties The culture produces the antimetabolite antibiotic AT-l25. Source. Soil DISCUSSION Streptomyces sviceus is an actinomycete with characteristics of the genus Streptomyces as set forth in Bergeys Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, seventh edition [Breed, Robert S., E. G. D. Murray, and Nathan R. Smith. 1957. Bergeys manual of determinative bacteriology, seventh Edition, the Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore]. The culture, which was isolated from soil, is distinctly different from Streptomyces species in the Upjohn culture collection and, insofar as can be determined, from those in the literature descriptions in Bergeys Manual, supra, Gauze [Gauze, G. F., T. P. Preobrazenskaya, E. S. Kudrina, N. O. Blinov, I. D. Ryabova, and M. A. Iveshnikova. 1957. Problems in the classification of antagonistic actinomycetes. State Publishing House for Medical Literature, Moscow. En-

glish edition translated by Fritz Danga; David Gottlieb (ed.).

The American Institute of Biological Sciences, Washington, D. C.], I-Iutter [Hutter, R. 1967. Systematik der Streptomyceten unter besondere Berucksictigung der von ihnen gerbildeten Antibiotica. S. Karger, Basel], Krassilinkov [Krassilnikov, N. A. 1949. Actinomycetes. In Guide to the identification of bacteria and Actinomycetes. Academy of Sciences, U.S.S.R., Moscow. English edition translated by J. B. Routien, Chas. Pfizer and Co., Inc., 1957], Waksman [Waksman, S. A. 1961. The actinomycetes, Vol. 2, Classification, indentification, and descriptions of genera and species. The Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore], and Shirling and Gottlieb [Shirling, E. B., and D. Gottlieb. 1968. Cooperative description of type cultures of Streptomyces. II. Species descriptions from first study. Int. J. Sys. Bacteriol. 18:69-189; Cooperative description of typecultures of Streptomyces. III (1968) Additional species descriptions from first and second studies. Int., J. Sys. Bacteriol. 182279-392; Cooperative description of type clutures of Streptomyces. IV. (1969) Species descriptions from the second, third and fourth studies. Int. J. Sys. Bacteriol. 192391-512].

Streptomyces sviceus showed some similarity to Streptomyces hawaiiensis [Cron, M. J D. F. Whitehead, I. R. Hooper, B. I-Ieinemann, and J. Lein. 1956. Bryamycin, a new antibiotic. Antibiotics and Chemotherapy 6:63-67] ATCC 122236. Both cultures are melaninpositive and have similar carbon utilization patterns in the synthetic medium of Pridham and Gottlieb. Streptomyces hawaiiensis has open spiral sporophores which are shorter and less distinctive than those of the new culture which are long and coiled at the tip. The spores, as observed by transmission electron microscopy, are round to oval and covered with fine spines for S. hawaiiensis and oval to rectangular with a sparsely warty to spiny surface for S. sviceus. Distinguishing characteristics are cited in Table 4.

S. sviceus is easily distinguished by its distinctive color pattern and microscopic characteristics from characterized species of Streptomyces in the Upjohn culture collection and, as far as can be determined, from those cultures characterized in the literature. The cultural characteristics cited in the tables reinfroce the distinctive features of S. sviceus. A unique property of this organism in its ability to produce antibiotic AT- 125. It is proposed that the organism characterized herein be considered a new species of Streptomyces designated Streptomyces sviceus (from svice or svicen- TABLE 1 Color Pattern of Streptomyces sviceus on Ektachrome Agar Medium Surface Reverse Bennetts Lavender-gray Brown Czapeks sucrose Lavender-gray Red-brown Maltose tryptone Lavender-gray Brown Peptone-iron No aerial growth Brown TABLE l-Continued The new compound of the invention is produced Color Pattern of Streptomyces sviceus on Ektachrome* when the elaborating organism is grown in an aqueous nutrient medium under submerged aerobic conditions.

Med'um Surface d reverse 5 It is to be understood also that for the preparation of 0.1 0 tyrosine Fair laven er-gray ed-brown Casein Starch Fair luvendepgray Light brown limited amounts, surface cultures and bottles can be employed. The organism is grown in a nutrient medium *Dietz. A.. Ektachromc Transparencies as Aids in Actinomyeetc Classification. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 602152454. 1954.

TABLE 2 containing a carbon source, and an assimilable nitrogen Reference Color Characteristics of Srrepmmyces sviceus Color Harmony Manual,

ISCC-NBS Method of Designating Color and a Dictionary of Color Agar Medium 3rd ed., 1948* Names, Circular 553, 1955** Bennetts S 3fe silver gray 63gm light brownish gray R 3ni clove brown 77m moderate yellowish brown 95g moderate olive brown P 3ig beige brown, mist 80m grayish yellowish brown brown Czapeks sucrose S 31c amber. butterscotch 71m moderate orange yellow R 2ge covert tan, griege 94m light olive brown l09gm light grayish yellow P 3ge beige camel 79m light yellowish brown Maltose tryptone S a white 263gm white R 31g adobe brown, cinnamon 77gm moderate yellowish brown brown, light brown P 3ig camel, maple sugar, tan 80m grayish yellowish brown 95g moderate olive brown Yeast extract S 3fe silver gray 63gm light brownish gray malt extract R 4n] chocolate. dark brown 64m brownish gray (lSP-2) 81g dark grayish yellowish brown P 3li beaver 80m grayish yellowish brown 95g moderate olive brown Oatmeal S 3fe silver gray 63gm light brownish gray (lSP-3) R 2ig slate tan to l 10g grayish yellow 3ml beaver gray 112m light olive gray to 96g dark olive brown 266m dark gray P 2ih dark covert gray 1 12m light olive gray 265m medium gray lnorganic- S 3fe silver gray 63gm light brownish gray salts starch (lSP-4) R 3ge beige. camel 79m light grayish yellowish brown 94m light olive brown P 3ge beige. camel 79m light grayish yellowish brown 94m light olive brown Glycerol- S C light gray 264gm light gray asparagine (lSP-S) R 3ml beaver gray 96g dark olive brown P 3fe silver gray 63gm light brownish gray S Surface R Reverse P Pigment All readings were made using the glossy surface of the chips. *Jacobson. Er, W. C. Granville, and C. E. Foss. i948. Color Harmony Manual. 3rd Edition. Container Corporation of America. Chicago. Illinois. Kelly K. L., and D. B. Judd. 1955. The ISCC NBS Method ofDcsignating Colors and a Dictionary ofColor Names. U. S. Depti Commerce Circ. 553.

TABLE 3 Cultural and Biochemical Characteristics of Srreplomyces sviceus Medium Surface (aerial growth) Reverse Other Characteristics Agar Media Peptone-iron Trace gray Brown Brown pigment (melanin positive) Calcium malate Poor gray-white White to cream Malate solubilized around growth Glucose asparagine Skim milk Tyrosine Xanthine Nutrient starch Yeast extractmalt extract Peptone-yeastextract-iron (lSP-6) Olive Poor lavender-gray Yellow-tan-brown Very slight trace gray Yellow-tan-brown pigment Casein not solubilized positive) TABLE 3 Continued Cultural and Biochemical Characteristics of Slreplomyces sviceus Other Characteristics Medium Surface (aerial growth) Reverse Tyrosine Gray Brown Brown pigment (melanin- (lSP-7) positive) 50% No pigment (melaninnegative) 50% Gelatin Media Plain Tracewhite on surface Yellow to olive pipgment pellicle No liquefaction Nutrient Olive tan pigment No liquefaction Broth Media Synthetic nitrate Colorless surface Pale yellow pigment v pellicle Compact bottom growth Nitrate not reduced to nitrite Nutrient nitrate Colorless surface Brown pigment pellicle Compact bottom growth Nitrate not reduced to nitrite Litmus milk Brown surface ring Litmus reduced in four of six tubes No peptonization pH 5.3

TABLE 4 Differentiation of Streptomyces .rviceus and Slreptomyces hawiiensis ATCC 12236, UC 2504 Slreptomyces .rviceus Streptomyces hawaiiensis ATCC 12236, UC 2504 Reference color* Sporophores** White (W) to Gray (GY) Long, straight and coiled at tip (S) (Many candelabralik Warty to spiny (Spines short Spore surface* and sparse) White (W) to Yellow (Y) to Red (R) Moderately short open spiral (RA) to spiral (S) Spiny (Spines short to long) Complete liquefaction pH 6. 1 Melanin negative Produces bryamycin *Tresner, H. D.. and E. J. Backus. 1962. System of color wheels for strcptomyccte taxonomy. Appl. Microbiol. 11:335-338.

"Pridham. T. (3.. W. C. Hesseltinc. and R. G. Benedict. 1958. A guide for thc classification of Slrepmmyces according to selected groups. Placement of strains in morphological sections. Appl. Microbiol. 6:52-79. "'Dietz. A.. and John Mathews, 1970. Classification of Slreprmnyces sporc surfaces into fivc groups. Appl. Microbiol. 21:527-533.

NOTE: The UC" designation in Table 4 refers to The Upjohn Company culture collection.

compound or porteinaceous material. Preferred carbon sources include glucose, brown sugar, sucrose, glycerol, starch, cornstarch, lactose, dextrin, molasses, and the like. Preferred nitrogen sources include com steep liquor, yeast, autolyzed brewers yeast with milk solids, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, cornmeal, milk solids, pancreatic digest of casein, distillers solubles, animal peptone liquors, meat and bone scraps, and the like. Combinations of these carbon and nitrogen sources can be used advantageously. Trace metals, for example, zinc, magnesium, manganese, cobalt, iron and the like need not be added to the fermentation medium since tap water and unpurified ingredients are used as medium components.

Production of the compound of the invention can be effected at any temperature conducive to satisfactory growth of the microorganism, for example between about 18 and C., and preferably between about 20 and 32C. Ordinarily, optimum production of the compound is obtained in about 2 to 10 days. The medium When growth is carried out in large vessels and tanks,

it is preferable to use the vegetative form, rather than the spore form, of the microorganism for inoculation to avoid a pronounced lag in the production of the new compound and the attendant inefficient utilization of the equipment. Accordingly, it is desirable to produce a vegetative inoculum in a nutrient broth culture by inoculating this borth culture with an aliquot from a soil or a slant culture. When a young, active vegetative inoculum has thus been secured, it is transferred aspectically to large vessels or tanks. The medium in which the vegetative inoculum is produced can be the same as, or

.different from, that utilized for the production of the new compound, as long as it is such that a good growth of the microorganism is obtained.

The new antibiotic of the inventionfAT-IZS, is an amphoteric compound. It is soluble in H and slightly solube in CH OH.

A variety of procedures can be employed in the isolation and purification of AT-l25, for example, absorption procedures followed by elution with a suitable solvent, column chromatography, partition chromatography, and crystallization from solvents.

In a preferred recovery process, AT-l25 is recovered from its culture medium by filtration through a medium porosity diatomite, for example FW 40 supplied by Eagle Picher. Other suitable diatomites are marketed under the trade names Super Cel (Johns Manvilles fine diatomite), Dicalite 4200 (Great Lakes), and Miraflow 40 (Eagle Picher).

The clear beer is percolated through a chromatographic column packed with a styrene type sufionic acid resin. Dowex 50 in the hydrogen form is preferred, advantageously highly crosslinked, for example, Dowex 50 X 16. Other suitable resins are marketed under the tradenames Amberlite lR-l20, Nalcite HCR, Chempro C-20, Permutit Q and Zeokarb 225. After appropriate washing of the column the antibiotic is eluted with a base, NH OH is preferred. The antibiotically active elutates obtained from the above chromatographic column are pooled and concentrated.

In a preferred purification procedure, the resulting aqueous concentrate, described above, at a neutral pH (6.2-7.8), is percolated through a column containing a weakly basic styrene type polyamine resin. Amberlite IR 45 (OH) is preferred. Other resins which can be used are Amberlite IR 43, Nalcite WBR, DeAcidite E and Duolite A2.

The column is washed with deionized water, 50 per cent aqueous MeOH, and 90 percent aqueous MeOH, and then eluted with 0.1 N HOAc in 90 percent MeOI-I. Active eluate fractions are pooled, then evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure to give a residue. MeOH can be substituted by H O.

The residue, obtained as described above, is then subjected to partition chromatography by first dissolving it in the lower phase of a solvent system consisting of a mixture of n-butanol, benzene, methanol and deinonized water (211:1:1). The lower phase containing the residue from the above-described weakly basic styrene type polyamine resin column is homogenized with a medium porosity diatomite, for example, Eagle Pichers FW 40 and upper phase of the solvent system described above. The resulting homogenized solid is then added to the top of a column containing a medium porosity diatomite which was prepared previously by slurring the medium porosity diatomite in upper phase of the solvent mixture, described above, agitated thoroughly with lower phase of said solvent mixture, pouring into a chromatographic column, and allowing the bed to settle while passing upper phase through the column. The active eluates from the column are collected, pooled and evaporated to a dry residue. Crystalline AT-l25 is obtained by crystallization with a suitable solvent (methanol is preferred).

Other solvents which can be used are 95 percent EtOH, aqueous BuOh, and H 0.

An alternate procedure for the recovery of AT-125 from the filtered fermentation beer is by absorption on a suitable ion exhange resin, for example Dowex 1 (OAc) at pH 9 10, or IR 45 OH) at pH 6 7, and after washing the resin with H O, the AT-125 is recovered by elution with aqueous or methanolic NH OH or HOAc. Further, the filtered clear fermentation beer may be absorbed on carbon and the AT-l25 activity eluted with an appropriate solvent mixture, for exam ple, aqueous acetone.

An alternate purification procedure which can be used involves chromatography on silica gel with methano] in CHCl 'or CH CI or with mixtures of benzene (or toluene), percent ETOH, and HOAc.

The titer of AT-l25 in the beer during various stages of recovery operations can be monitored by a discplate assay using Bacillus subtilis cultivated in a synthetic medium of the folliwng composition:

MgSO,

Glucose Bacto Agar* l Distilled water 1 liter Metallic ion stock solution" 1 ml. *Bacto Agar provided by Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Michigan. **Metallic ion stock solution consists of the following:

NaMoO .2H O 200 #g/ml. CoCl ug/ml. CuSO, 100 #g/ml. MnSO 2 mg./ml. CaCl 25 mgJml. FeCl2.4H2O 5 mg./ml. ZnCl;* 5 mgJml.

*ZnCl has to be dissolved separately using a drop of 0.1 N HCI for 10 ml. of water. The stock solution is heated to bring all the compounds in solution, kept standing for 24 hours, and sterile filtered.

This medium is inoculated with a spore suspension of B. substilis (1.5 X 10 cells/ml.) at a rate of 0.5 ml./liter. The beer samples are applied to 12.5 mm. diamter adsorbent paper discs (0.08 ml./disc), the assay system is incubated overnight at 37 C., and the zones of inhibition are measured. The potency of the sample is related to the diameter of the inhibition zone by means of the usual standard curve.

This medium when seeded with B. subtilis can also be used for the detection of antibiotic AT-125. In this procedure, papergrams are developed with the upper phase of a solvent mixture of l butanol, methanol, benzene, and H 0 (2: 1: 1: 1). After development the sheet is dried and the papergrams are then laid on transparent papergram trays containing the seeded medium and withdrawn after about 20 minutes. The trays are incubated overnight as above, and inhibition zones observed.

Since AT-l25 is amphoteric compound, it forms salts with acids, alkali metals (including ammonia), alkaline earth metals (including magnesium and aluminum), and amines. Metal salts can be prepared by dissolving AT- in water, and adding a dilute metal base until the pH of the solution is 7 to 8. AT-l25 metal salts include the sodium, potassium and calcium salts. Amine salts, including those with organic bases such as primary, secondary, and tertiary, mono-, di-, and polyamines can also be formed using the above-described or other commonly employed procedures. Further, ammonium salts can be made, by well-known procedures. Other salts are obtained with therapeutically effective bases which impart additonal thereapeutic effects thereto. Such bases afe, for example, the purine bases such as theophyllin, theobromin, caffein, or derivatives of such purine bases; antihistaminic bases which are capable of forming salts with weak acids; pyridine compounds such as nicotinic acid amide, isonicotinic acid hydrazide, and the like; phenylalkylamines such as adrenalin, ephedrin, and the like; choline and others.

Acid salts can be made by neutralizing AT-125 with the appropriate acid to below about pH 7.0, and advantageously to about pH 2 to pH 6. Suitable acids for this purpose include hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric, sulfamic, hydrobromic, and the like. Acid and base salts of AT- 1 25 can be used for the same biological purposes as the parent compound.

AT-125 is active against Escherichia coli and can be used to reduce, arrest, and eradicate slime production in papermill systems caused by its antibacterial action against this microorganism. AT-125 also can be used to prolong the life of cultures of Trichomonas foetus, Trichomonas hominis, and Trichomonas vaginalis by freeing them of Escherichia coli contamination. Further, AT-l25 can be used as the antifungal agent in the shoe uppers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,505. Still, further, since AT-l25 is active against Bacillus subtilis it can be used to minimize or prevent odor in fish or fish crates caused by this organism, or AT-125 can be used to swab laboratory benches and equipment in a mycological laboratory.

AT-125 is active against L 1210 murine leukemia in laboratory mice, and, thus, can be used to treat said mice.

The following examples are illustrative of the process and products of the present invention but are not to be construed as limiting. All percentages are by weight and all solvent mixture proportions are by volume unless otherwise noted.

Example 1 A. Fermentation A soil stock of Streptomyces svcieus, NRRL 5439, is used to inoculate 500-ml. Erlenmeyer seed flasks containing 100 ml. of sterile medium consisting of the following ingredients:

Dextrose 25 g./l. Pharmamedia* 25 g./l. Tap water q.s. to 1 liter Product of'lrudcrs Oil Mill Company. Fort Worth, Texas.

The seed medium presterilization pH is 7.2. The seed inoculum is grown for two days at 28C. on a Gump rotary shaker operating at 250 r.p.m. Seed inoculum, prepared as described above, is used to inoculate 500-ml. Erlenmeyer fermentation flasks containing 100 ml. of sterile fermentation medium consisting of the following ingredients:

Calcium carbonate 5 g./l. Sodium chloride 2 g./l. Starch l g./l. Munnitol l0 g./l. Phytone* l0 g./l. KuySoy l0 g./l. Lard oil I mL/lOO ml. Tap water q.s. to l liter 'Papaic digest of soyu meal. "Finely milled fut extracted soybean meal.

The presterilization pH is adjusted to 7.2 with 4 N NaOH. The fermentation flasks are inoculated at the rate of 5 ml. of seed inoculum per 100 ml. of fermentation medium. The fermentation flasks are grown for 2 3 days at a temperature of 32C. on a Gump rotary shaker operating at 250 r.p.m. Maximum production of AT-l25 in a flask fermentation is generally realized on the second day after which the titer of antibiotic gradually drops off. A typical fermentation production curve in a shake flask is as follows:

Hours Bu/ml. of AT- 1 25 A biounit of activity (Bu) is defined as that quantity of antibiotic necessary to achieve a 20 mm. zone of inhibition from a V2 inch disc treated with 0.08 ml. of its solution. The disc-plate assay is as described previously.

B. RECOVERY Whole beer (250 liters) from an AT-l25 fermentation, as described above, is filtered through a medium porosity diatomite. The resulting clear beer is percolated at pH 7-8 through 25 liters of freshly regenerated Dowex 50 X 16 (H") in a chromatographic column. The column is washed with 50 liters of deionized H 0 and then eluted with 120 liters of l N NH OH; 6 liter fractions are collected. The most active fractions (inhibition zones 50 mm.) are determined by applying dipped, air-dried discs to a tray of Bacillus subtilis (grown in synthetic medium as described previously). The active fractions are pooled and concentrated uner reduced pressure to remove excess NH OH. Solids determinations indicate that the crude aqueous concentrate contains 2,950 g. and the active eluates contain 244 gm. The solids in the active eluates are approximately 13 times more potent than the clear beer solids by Bacillus subtilis synthetic assay.

C. PURIFICATION l. Weakly basic styrene type polyamine resin column The active aqueous concentrated Dowex 50 eluate, prepared as described above, at pH 77.5, is percolated through a column containing 4 liters of Amberlite IR 45 (OH). The column is washed with 8 liters of deionized H 0, 4 liters of 50 percent aqueous MeOH and 8 liters of 90 percent aqueous MeOH, and then eluted with 0.5 N HOAc in 90 percent MeOH; 2.] fractions are collected. The most active fractions by Bacillus subtilis assay, are pooled and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure; yield, 9.40 g. of residue having a Bacillus subtilis potency 28 times greater than the Dowex 50 eluate residue, described above. 2. Partition chro-.

matography A mixture of n-butanol, benzene, methanol, and deionized water (2:1: 1:1) is agitated and allowed to settle into two layers; the layers are then separated. A medium porosity diatomite (2340gm.) is slurried in upper phase, agitated thoroughly with 900 ml. of lower phase, and poured into a chromatographic column, allowing the bed to settle while passing the upper phase through the column. The residue from the IR 45 eluate, prepared as described above, is dissolved in 25 ml. of lower phase and homogenized with g. of a medium porosity diatomite and 50 ml. of upper phase. The resulting homogenized solid is carefully added to the top of the column and elution with upper phase initiated; 500 ml. fractions are collected. The most active fractions by Bacillus subtilis assay are evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure affording 3.93 gm. of residue having a Bacillus subtilis potency 2.9 times that of the IR 45 eluate resiude, described above.

3. Crystallization The residue, obtained by partition chromatography, as described above, is crystallized from CH OH and recrystallized from aqueous CH Ol-l three times affording 362 mg. of pure crystalline AT-125 having approximately 4 times the Bacillus subtilis potency of the highly active residue from partition chromatography, described above.

Salts of antibiotic AT-l25 can be made by the procedures disclosed supra. These salts, also as disclosed supra, are useful for the same purposes as the parent antibiotic.

The invention described herein was made in the course of, or under, Contract Pl-l43-NCl-69-1023 with the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014.

We claim:

1. A process for making antibiotic AT-125 aqueous nutrient medium under aerobic conditions until substantial antibiotic activity is imparted to said medium by the production of antibiotic AT-l25.

2. A process according to claim 1 which comprises cultivating Streptomyces sviceus in an aqueous nutrient medium containing a source of assimilable carbohydrate and assimilable nitrogen under aerobic conditions until substantial antibiotic activity is imparted to said medium by the production of antibiotic AT-l25 and isolating the antibiotic AT-l25 so produced.

3. A process according to claim 2 in which the isolation comprises filtering the fermentation medium, absorbing the filtered beer on an ion exchange resin, eluting antibiotic AT- from said resin and subjecting said eluates to purification procedures.

4. A process according to claim 3 wherein said ion exchange resin is a highly crosslinked styrene type sulfonic acid resin.

5. A process according to claim 4 wherein said resin is Dowex 50 X 16 in the hydrogen form.

6. A process according to claim 3 wherein said purification procedures comprise:

l. weakly basic styrene type polyamine resin chromatography,

2. partition chromatography; and

3. crystallization.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,878,047 DATED April 15, 1975 INVENTOR S I Ladislav J. Hanka and David a. Martin It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col umn 2, l ine 50, 'For "Agr icl utural read Agr icul tural l ine 59, or "N. Y. characteristics" read Color character istics Column 3, l ine 31, for owth read growth Column l, l ine 22, For "clutures" read cultures -;.l ine 45, for "reinfroce" read reinforce Column 8, under Other Character istics in Table 3, for "yel low to ol ive pipgment read yel low to ol ive pigment Column 7, under Streptomyces sviceus in Table 4 for "Products AT-l25" read Produces AT-l25 Column 6, l ine 59, For "borth" read broth Column 9, l ine 3, For "solube" read soluble l ine 17, for "suflonid read sul fon ic l ine 62, for

"BuOh' read BuOH l ine 66, for "OH-)" read (OH-) Column 10, l ine 15, For "fol l iwng" read Fol low lng l ine 33, for" l subst ll is" read B subt il is l ine 55,

for "diamter" read diameter l ine 50, for "is amphoteric" read is an amphoteric l ine 65, for "additonal" read additional Column 12, l ine 8, under column Bu/ml of AT-125, for read 56 l ine 30, For "uner" read under l ine 45, For "2.1" read 2 l. Column 13,

l ine 2, for "res iude' read res idue Signed and Scaled this seventh Day Of October 1975 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer (ummissiuner ufPatents and Trademarks 

1. A PROCESS FOR MAKING ANTIBIOTIC AT-125 3-(CL-),5-((-)OOC-CH(-NH3(+))-)-2-ISOXAZOLINE WHICH COMPRISES CULTIVATING STREPTOMYCES SVICEUS IN AN AQUEOUS NUTRIENT MEDIUM UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS UNTIL SUBSTANTIAL ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY IS IMPARTED TO SAID MEDIUM BY THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTIC AT-125.
 2. A process according to claim 1 which comprises cultivating Streptomyces sviceus in an aqueous nutrient medium containing a source of assimilable carbohydrate and assimilable nitrogen under aerobic conditions until substantial antibiotic activity is imparted to said medium by the production of antibiotic AT-125 and isolating the antibiotic AT-125 so produced.
 2. partition chromatography; and
 3. crystallization.
 3. A process according to claim 2 in which the isolation comprises filtering the fermentation medium, absorbing the filtered beer on an ion exchange resin, eluting antibiotic AT-125 from said resin and subjecting said eluates to purification procedures.
 4. A process according to claim 3 wherein said ion exchange resin is a highly crosslinked styrene type sulfonic acid resin.
 5. A process according to claim 4 wherein said resin is Dowex 50 X 16 in the hydrogen form.
 6. A process according to claim 3 wherein said purification procedures comprise: 